What is Critical Reading?
Being an active reader
Talk "to" the text
Respond: "Huh?" "Wow!" "I don't think so."
Asking questions while you read
What do you mean by that phrase?
Can you support that statement?
How do you define that term?
about yourself
about the context
about broader implications
Why Read Critically?
Questioning what others have said: Healthy skepticism
Provides process of discovery
Sharpens focus on an issue
Heightens ability to construct and evaluate arguments, your own and those of others
Helps you become a critical writer
Develops critical thinking skills
Questioning and analyzing allows the reader to become more knowledgeable
How to Read Critically: SQ3R
Before you read
Consider Your Own Experience: What do I know already? What have I read or heard recently? What attitudes or opinions do I have already about this topic
To get an overview
Preview: Who is the writer? Where was it originally published? When was it published? What does the title reveal?
Skim the reading: Try to discover the topic and the claim. Read 1st and last paragraphs
As you read
Annotate the Reading: A way to create active dialogue with the writer
Ask questions
Challenge assumptions
Note logical fallacies, distortions, exaggerations, insights, allusions, references
Argue with the reading (42)
Ask questions
Challenge assumptions
Create a Debate and Dialogue
Use multiple perspectives to learn about the topics
Compare and contrast the readings
After you read
Summarize the reading: Short and does not include supporting details/examples;
written in your own words
The main idea: What the passage is about
Objective: "Telling back" what the author has said
Accurate: Would the author recognize the idea
Thorough: Include the main point
Argue with the reading (42)
Ask questions
Challenge assumptions
Create a Debate and Dialogue
Argue with the reading (42)
Ask questions
Challenge assumptions
Create a Debate and Dialogue
Analyze and Evaluate the reading: Ask questions:
Main assumptions: What does the text suggest everyone agrees on?
Audience: Who is the intended audience? Why?
Evidence: Is the evidence adequate, relevant, reliable?
Purpose: What is the purpose: to inform or to persuade
Persuasive: If persuasive, consider:
Convincing: Is the evidence adequate, relevant, reliable?
Logical: Are there logical fallacies?
Address the 0pposition by summarizing accurately and objectively then responding appropriately?
Use multiple perspectives to learn about the topics
Compare and contrast the readings
Deliberate About the Readings
Consider the information
Respond to find your own position
Decide
Come to YOUR own conclusion based on what you have studied
Groshgarian, Gary, Kathleen Krueger, and Janet Barnett Mine. "Reading Arguments: Thinking Like a Critic," Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader. Boston: Longman, 2003. Print.
Wheeler, L. Kip. "Critical Reading of an Essay's Argument." 2012. Dr. Wheeler's Website. Web. 20 Aug. 2010.